Homemade Cereal Bars

For a long time I have been trying different ways of introducing more fiber into my diet. I like cereals, nuts, vegetables and fruits a lot, which means for me it has not been very difficult to do so however sometimes it’s hard to keep a healthy, balanced and rich-in-fiber diet. This either because I don’t have time to prepare a nice meal or I am travelling and far away from my kitchen or I am lazy and do not feel like cooking.

In those moments today’s recipe, homemade cereal bars, is perfect. Because they are prepared with organic ingredients, these cereal bars are synonymous of tasty, healthy and energetic food. They can be enjoyed as part of your breakfast or as a snack when you are feeling a bit peckish.

Since this recipe has been a success among my friends from time to time I do not miss the opportunity to give them cereal bars as a gift. Do you know why? Well, once I read a quote that said: “cooking is love made visible” so I express love by sharing what I have cooked.

Ingredients

2 cups organic oats

1/2 cup organic almonds, chopped

1/2 cup organic pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup organic sunflower seeds

1/2 cup organic Brazil nuts, chopped

1/4 cup organic dried fruits

1/3 cup organic peanut butter or coconut oil

1/2 cup organic honey

A pinch of salt

1 – Preheat the oven to 180ºc and bake the oats, almonds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds for 9 minutes.

2 – In a pan warm the peanut butter (or coconut oil) with the honey just until the butter is melted. Set it aside to cool a bit.

3- In a bowl mix all the ingredients until they amalgamate well.

4 – Line a square tin with baking paper and add the above mix to it; with a spoon spread the mixture on the tin and press it down firmly.

5 – Refrigerate it for at least 1 hour before cutting it with a sharp knife.

These cereal bars keep well at a room temperature for 1 week.

Tip – you can change or add new types of nuts and seed as you wish, the important thing is to maintain a good balance between dried and liquid ingredients otherwise the bar will not stick.

If you would like bars crispy and sweet add an extra 1/3 cup of dark muscovado cane sugar when warming the peanut butter (or coconut oil) with the honey.